The Sword Comes Inn

After crossing the border of Xuanqin Country, the closer they got to where Xu Zhiye was located, the higher the temperature rose. By the time the two riders and one person arrived at the planned inn, the air temperature had already soared to over fifty degrees.

The inn was called Sword Coming Inn, located in a small town called Sword Forging Town, less than ten li from the volcano outside of the Hengduan Mountains. The volcano was called Li Ben Mountain, an active volcano. Living on Li Ben Mountain was a master swordsmith named Xu Zhiye.

Why was the temperature getting higher and higher? Because Qin Ran and the others were heading towards the volcano.

Master and disciple dismounted in front of Sword Coming Inn. Qin Ran held the snake demon Long Qiqi while Li Shiyin followed him into the inn.

They went to the front desk where there was a sixty-something-year-old innkeeper. Qin Ran said, "Two upper rooms."

Li Shiyin looked at Long Qiqi in Qin Ran's arms and quickly objected: "Three rooms."

Qin Ran glared at her but said nothing.

The old innkeeper took out the ledger and flipped through it, replying, "Whether it's three rooms or two, there are no more upper rooms left. There are only two lower grade rooms, do you want them?"

Were there really that many guests staying at the inn? Qin Ran looked back at the lobby and indeed saw quite a few people, most of whom were cultivators with not low cultivation bases. He pondered for a moment before saying to the innkeeper, "That's fine, two lower rooms."

"How long will you be staying?" asked the old innkeeper.

Qin Ran handed over two spirit stones.

The old innkeeper understood.

"Master..." Li Shiyin expressed her dissatisfaction in a low voice.

Qin Ran glared at her again, too lazy to even respond to her.

The innkeeper took the spirit stones, recorded it in the ledger, and called a handyman to lead their horses away.

"The horses are celestial horses, so take good care of them," Qin Ran reminded.

The old innkeeper took out keys from under the counter and laughed. "What's so great about celestial horses? Everyone who comes here wants Master Xu to forge them swords. Which one of them doesn't have immortal beasts as their mounts? Celestial horses?"

He shook his head and led the way.

Qin Ran explained, "Celestial horses have a gentle temperament, be careful not to let other spirit beasts bully them."

The innkeeper led the way, making several twists and turns before arriving at a door which he unlocked. He motioned for Qin Ran to go in and inspect, saying,

"As I said earlier, everyone who comes here is a cultivator looking to have Master Xu forge them swords. So I want to emphasize one thing - fighting is strictly prohibited in this inn. If you violate this rule, you will bear the consequences!"

Qin Ran inspected the room. It was small and simple, but it was clean. He nodded and said, "We are proper cultivators and do not like fighting. Please rest assured, innkeeper."

"I certainly hope so," the innkeeper replied.

He then opened the door to the next room and let Qin Ran inspect it as well. After he was done, the innkeeper said, "Friends who have travelled far must be tired. I have shown you the rooms, if you find them satisfactory, then please rest here. I will not disturb you further. If you need anything, you can find me at the front desk."

"Please go about your business, innkeeper!" Qin Ran responded.

As the innkeeper's figure disappeared from sight, Qin Ran looked at him with complex emotions.

"What's wrong, Master?" Li Shiyin asked.

"The innkeeper called us 'dao friends' ..." said Qin Ran.

"So what?" Li Shiyin did not understand.

"The innkeeper is also a cultivator with profound cultivation base that I cannot see through," Qin Ran replied.

"Oh!" Li Shiyin nodded. "So that old man is also a cultivator."

Since there was still plenty of time in the day, after inspecting both rooms, Qin Ran left Long Qiqi in the room and took Li Shiyin out the door, heading straight for Li Ben Mountain to meet the swordsmith master Xu Zhiye.

Xu Zhiye lived on the volcano in order to extract the earth's core fire from Li Ben Mountain to forge swords. But one could well imagine the environment on the volcano. Those who came here seeking swords were either in possession of treasures that could dispel heat or were themselves powerful cultivators who did not fear the scorching heat of the volcano.

With his low cultivation base, Qin Ran naturally belonged to the former category. As for treasures and the like, Qin Ran had made preparations well in advance. What he was worried about was another matter...

He had a water spirit root!

In this kind of environment, he would be lucky if he could exert half of his usual strength.

After handing a Fire Dispelling Bead to Li Shiyin, he emphasized to her, "Shiyin, this trip is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and my strength has been greatly suppressed by the volcano...so...you have to be extremely vigilant and prepare yourself to fight or escape at any time."

Seeing her master's solemn expression, Li Shiyin also became serious. She nodded and said, "Don't worry, Master. I will definitely protect you well."

Although Li Shiyin had become serious, Qin Ran still felt it was not enough.

Apart from him being more of a coward, there was another reason - the last time he came to see Xu Zhiye, it was his master Wang Yuan who had brought him here to forge his Natal Magic Weapon. He was the one being protected then, but this time, it was his responsibility to protect his disciple.

He felt that Li Shiyin still did not understand the gravity of the situation, so he went on to say, "Shiyin, when bad people in the mortal world commit crimes, there are laws, institutions, morality and so on to punish them. But in the world of cultivation...

"Cultivators possess tremendous power and long lifespans. No one will abide by laws, institutions or moral principles. The world of cultivation is a world where one can act in whatever way one desires. It is an extremely chaotic world, a world of survival of the fittest! Therefore, evil people in the cultivation world...no, when people in the cultivation world commit crimes, no one will punish them.

"If a powerful Nascent Soul or Unity stage cultivator were to kill us now, they would not suffer any consequences at all, and we would just die. That is the kind of world the cultivation world is. Do you truly understand?"

"Huh? Is that so?" When she first became a disciple, Li Shiyin had wondered if she would face the kind of world Qin Ran described. But her master was Qin Ran, and he had treated her so well. After a month of cultivating, she thought the world of cultivation was beautiful and full of spiritual energy.

Now that Qin Ran had explained it to her in detail, her perceptions changed along with it. She nodded heavily and replied, "I understand now, Master."

Seeing that Li Shiyin finally had this awareness, Qin Ran felt slightly more at ease.

As for whether the cultivation world was actually as dangerous as Qin Ran claimed?

It was true to some extent, Qin Ran had just exaggerated a little. What he exaggerated was not the viciousness of cultivators themselves, but the level of danger, because higher level cultivators were too few in number. Without sufficient benefits, they were too lazy to kill people.

After leaving the small town and about eight kilometers from the volcano, Qin Ran spotted an area with loose rocks by the roadside with no one around. He took out his array disk and swiftly set up an array.

"Master, what are you doing?" Li Shiyin asked curiously as she followed along.

"Setting up an array," Qin Ran replied.

"What kind of array is it?"

Qin Ran thought for a moment before answering, "If we really get chased here by enemies, it means we are helpless against them and can only escape. So this is a teleportation array that will randomly teleport us 100 kilometers away after activation."

"It teleports in a random direction?"

"A random direction..." said Qin Ran. "If we are being chased by enemies, of course we have to take a path that even we don't know."

As they continued towards the volcano, Qin Ran would set up an array every two kilometers. Each time he set one up, he would explain to Li Shiyin - "This is a Slaughtering Array, this is a Shapeshifting Array, this is an Illusory Array, this is a Poison Killing Array..."

After setting up the Poison Killing Array at the foot of the mountain, it was time to prepare for ascending. Looking at Li Shiyin's flushed red face, Qin Ran said, "We're about to climb the mountain. Take one last check of the pills, talismans, etc in your Cosmos Pouch to make sure they are intact. Also check the state of your body, magic power and the Heavenly Star Sword... "

Once Li Shiyin was done with her checks, Qin Ran gave her another pill and asked her to consume it. "This is a Hundred Poisons Pill I developed based on various poisons' mechanisms of action. It can resolve most poisons."

Only then did they begin climbing the volcano, with Li Shiyin behind Qin Ran. As she gazed at her master's back, she clicked her tongue in admiration -

"Master is too exaggerated!"